Snow in Rohtang, rain in Kullu bring down mercury

Rohtang Pass, the gateway to Lahaul and Spiti district and Ladakh region, experienced fresh snowfall, while heavy and continuous rains lashed Manali and other parts of Kullu valley on Saturday.

Rohtang Pass is reported to have recorded half inch of snow, bringing down the temperature considerably. But, it brought inconvenience for tourists who were forced to stay indoors due to repeated landslides and rolling down of boulders on the Manali-Rohtang pass road at Rahani Nallah.

It is learnt that the border roads organisation (BRO) had kept a bulldozer to clear the road. Despite heavy rains, tourists continued to throng Manali on Saturday. The heavy inflow of tourists to the town resulted in long traffic jams, bringing long hours of discomfort to the commuters.

However, the early monsoon has brought cheer to farmers and fruit growers. Rain during this month is being considered to be a great advantage to the standing crop of apples, pears, peach and apricot. Experts of the horticulture department said rain would help enlarge the size of these fruits in Kullu valley.

No untoward incident due to the bad weather was reported from any part of the upper Kullu valley. Meanwhile, heavy rains resulted in rise in the level of water in Beas river and its tributaries.